PPC New Year’s Resolutions for 2016

We’re only a few short weeks away from 2016. You’re probably thinking about what your personal New Year’s resolution will be, so why not apply that same mindset to PPC? I have a couple of tips for starting 2016 on the right foot, which can help your accounts and your professional growth, as well.

2015 in Review

While recovering from the holiday frenzy, take some time to look back your accounts’ 2015 data. Look for some trends in performance, what seemed to work? Don’t forget to look at top performing months, days of the week and hours of the day. A years’ worth of data can be valuable for identifying trends that you might not have noticed before. Find some ways to apply your findings to your accounts and use this insight to your advantage moving forward.

Get Rid of the Clutter

Have keywords that had zero impressions during all of 2015? Too many ad copy variations? Feel like your campaigns could benefit from a restructure? There’s no better time than the beginning of year to crank out some changes and move ahead with a clean slate. Don’t be afraid to cut out the clutter that’s not benefiting your accounts.

Make Goals

After looking back at 2015, take a few minutes to jot down some goals for your accounts in 2016. I like to write goals like this out on paper and put them somewhere that I can see them frequently as a reminder. They don’t have to be anything difficult like “achieve $1 CPAs” or “quadruple calls for half of the current cost” – be realistic with yourself. If you set goals you know you can’t achieve, you’re not going to work very hard toward those goals.

Another way to help you stick to these goals is to set up a separate Google calendar that has some hard-set dates on it for your accounts. Add all of your goals to this calendar to keep you honest and help you remember what you’re working towards in 2016.

Set Professional Goals

You probably have some personal goals of your own for 2016, but have you thought of any goals for your professional life? For PPC newbies, learning a new tool or channel each month might be a good starting point. For PPC veterans, writing more blog posts or taking time to read more industry blogs might be goal-worthy. Once again, you can keep yourself honest by setting aside time on your calendar each week to help yourself achieve these goals and grow professionally.

Be Prepared to Flex

In the same way that sometimes you fall of the workout bus, be ready to make some changes to your strategies later in the year. Not every goal you have will work the way that you planned, but you’re sure to learn a lot in 2016 and go into 2017 with even more PPC experience than you had in 2015!

What are your PPC New Year’s resolutions for 2016? We’d love to hear them in the comments!